Arctic Circle Assembly
Andrew Lockley
https://www.c2g2.net/project/arctic-circle-assembly/
Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative
Arctic Circle Assembly
10 October 2019, Reykjavík, Iceland
The Arctic plays a key role in the global climate system. This makes the region an area of special interest for those considering the viability of climate-altering technologies, including Solar Radiation Modification and large-scale Carbon Dioxide Removal. In addition, others are considering interventions to engineer or protect ice in order to slow or reverse ice melt. But is there adequate governance in place to protect people and ecosystems should these climate-altering technologies be tested or used?
C2G will host two sessions at the Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík, Iceland, 10 October 2019. These sessions are aimed at encouraging society-wide discussions about the risks or potential benefits, as well as ethical and governance challenges, of the possible use of climate-altering technologies in the Arctic.
Governing Emerging Climate Technologies in the Arctic
Thursday, 10 October 2019, 17:15-18:15
Kaldalón, Harpa Ground Level
Saving the Arctic: Ethics, Values and the Next Generation
Thursday, 10 October 2019, 18:30-19:30
Kaldalón, Harpa Ground Level
Governing Emerging Climate Technologies in the Arctic
Thursday, 10 October 2019, 17:15-18:15, in the room Kaldalón, Harpa Ground Level
The Arctic is warming faster than any other region, with potentially profound consequences for the entire planet. To counter or slow this trend, some scientists are exploring emerging climate technologies, including solar radiation modification (SRM), to lower temperatures by reflecting the sun’s radiation back into space and/or to preserve or increase Arctic sea ice.
These technologies could pose significant risks as well as potential benefits. Thus far, however, government policymakers have been largely unaware of research and potential experiments of these emerging climate technologies in the Arctic. Indigenous groups often say they have not been adequately consulted, and fear risks to their health, ecosystems, and way of life. Existing governance for these technologies is spotty and not well coordinated at the international level.
This session will explore which emerging climate technologies researchers are considering with respect to the Arctic, what their effective governance might include, and their implications for the region and, indeed, the world at large.
Speakers
Sir David King
Jason Box
Shawna Larson
Pétur Halldórsson
Cynthia Scharf
Saving the Arctic: Ethics, Values and the Next Generation
Thursday, 10 October 2019, 18:30-19:30, in the room Kaldalón, Harpa Ground Level
Most scientists agree that what happens in the Arctic affects the entire world, as the integrity of the Arctic plays a crucial role in stabilizing the global climate system. With the Arctic heating up twice as fast as other regions on the planet, some scientists are now researching additional efforts to preserve or ‘refreeze’ Arctic sea ice, or to lower temperatures by reflecting the sun’s radiation back into space.
Some see this as a moral imperative for averting catastrophic climate impacts, particularly for future generations. But do the ends justify the means? In seeking to preserve the Arctic with emerging climate technologies, such as injecting reflective aerosol into the stratosphere, brightening marine clouds, or making parts of the Earth’s surface brighter to reflect solar radiation, would the world be opening a Pandora’s Box that could lead to other risks – both known and unknown – for future generations?
What role should ethics and values, both religious and secular, play in this debate? How might this inform governance of these technologies? What do young people, including indigenous youth who will live with the consequences of these decisions, know or think about this dilemma?
Speakers
Ashley Komangaapik Rose Cummings
Maria Krabbe Hammershøy
Ilona Mettiainen